Meet Dr. Lauren Elkind
Dr. Lauren Elkind is a Walnut Creek chiropractor who did not start out planning to become one. Growing up in Orinda and graduating from Miramonte High School, she headed to UC Berkeley with law school as the goal. Then an injury led to physical therapy, and that experience opened a door she did not expect.
Rehabilitating on a Pilates reformer led her to get a Pilates certification and start working with patients at the Center for Sports Medicine in Walnut Creek. From there she went to work for Tammara Moore, DPT, providing Pilates-based rehabilitation for Tammara’s patients. Through that work, Tammara introduced her to Active Release Technique (ART) and functional movement. By the time she enrolled at Life Chiropractic College West, she already knew she wanted to build her career around ART, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2001.
That early exposure to ART became the foundation of her career as a sports chiropractor. Dr. Elkind focused on manual soft tissue work, treating professional athletes and weekend warriors dealing with issues like tendinopathies, muscle strains, and chronic overuse injuries. With nearly 25 years of clinical experience, she is today a Master-Level ART® Provider, certified in every clinical module the technique offers, including spine, upper and lower extremity work, nerve entrapment protocols, and performance care for endurance athletes. She has also taught ART seminars nationally to other clinicians.
Dr. Elkind’s practice expanded to include pediatric chiropractic care after her son got into youth sports. Getting him treated exposed how few options existed for young athletes, and how much pediatric therapy focused on managing dysfunction rather than teaching good movement patterns to begin with. Many kids were being treated with protocols designed for adult bodies. That gap led her to further study in developmental kinesiology and pediatric movement patterns, and today she treats young athletes and growing kids alongside her adult patient base, using assessment and treatment approaches built for their stage of development.
The approach stays consistent across every patient she sees, from competitive athletes to growing kids to anyone else looking to move and feel better. Using Functional Movement Systems (FMS), Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), and Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS), she identifies the actual cause of common issues like back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, and youth sports injuries, rather than just treating the symptom.
Dr. Elkind’s same movement-based approach also applies to patients who are not injured but want to train smarter, improve performance, or reduce their risk of future injury. When a case needs extra support, she uses tools like Focused Shockwave Therapy to stimulate tissue repair in chronic or stubborn conditions, and Class IV Laser Therapy to reduce inflammation and support recovery.
For over two decades, Dr. Elkind has helped patients across Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, and the greater Lamorinda area, whether you are a competitive athlete working back from an injury, a parent looking for a pediatric chiropractor, or simply someone who wants to move better and stay ahead of injury. Dr. Elkind brings the same question to every patient: what is actually causing this, and how does your body need to move to fix it or keep it from happening in the first place. If that sounds like the kind of care you’re looking for, reach out to schedule a visit.
